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26.05.2002
Monaco
Monte Carlo

David Coulthard’s surprise victory in Monaco might not have happened at all but for the ingenuity of the McLaren Mercedes team’s remote telemetry system.

A light fuel load enables Coulthard to beat pole position man Juan Pablo Montoya away from the start and he leads a nose-to-tail procession around the first few laps. But when exiting the Monaco tunnel on lap 30, the Scot’s MP4-17 blows a cloud of blue smoke from its left exhaust.

Fearing an unexpected engine failure which would end his race, the Scot radios the pit. The McLaren Mercedes engineers trace the problem to a malfunctioning oil transfer valve.

Amazingly, the team fixes the problem remotely and Coulthard continues. Montoya retires, but Schumacher stays on Coulthard’s tail all the way to the line, trailing the Scot by just 1.049 seconds.

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